


The First I Love You

by CoffeeDrinker



Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:01:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23439625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoffeeDrinker/pseuds/CoffeeDrinker
Summary: When did Luke and Lorelai first say "I love you" to each other? This story is a collection of potential scenarios where it might have happened in season 5. Also posted on ff.net.
Relationships: Luke Danes/Lorelai Gilmore
Comments: 1
Kudos: 56





	The First I Love You

. . . . .

**Episode 5.2: A Messenger, Nothing More**

Lorelai twirled her finger in her hair as she listened to Luke's calming voice give her the latest gossip from the Renaissance Faire. She'd just finished giving him a recap of her day at the inn.

It had been a few weeks since Luke had gone out of town, a few weeks since they shared their first kiss, and they had been talking on the phone every night. It was the one thing keeping her sane while dealing with the hectic first few weeks of the Dragonfly and her separation from Rory.

"I just feel like the apple doll lady and the incense booth guy are pretending to hate each other, but they're secretly falling for each other," Lorelai said. "It's like a romantic comedy plotline with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan."

"Well, I'll keep you posted," Luke told her. "But as of right now, seems like pure hatred to me."

"That's usually how those movies go, it starts off as pure hatred between the two leads and blossoms into more," Lorelai explained.

"I'm not exactly super familiar with how those movies go, so I'll take your word for it."

"You owe me a movie, by the way," Lorelai said.

"I know. I will take you to one... I'll take you to lots of them."

"Promise?"

"Whatever you want."

Lorelai smiled into the phone and she leaned back against the headboard behind her. "You know, I don't know if I've mentioned this enough... but I really like our phone calls."

"Good. Me, too."

"I look forward to them all day."

"Same here."

"I think this is a good way to start off a relationship," Lorelai mused. "Just focusing on talking and learning about each other and listening to each other."

"Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't mind some physical contact, too, but... this is nice."

Lorelai smiled. "Don't worry... physical contact will happen upon your return." They'd been getting a little flirtier as the phone calls progressed.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. I assume you're referring to the physical contact that occurs when I give you money at the diner to pay my bill and my hand touches yours."

Luke smirked. "Yes, exactly. That's the contact I've been thinking about every night."

Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "Every night, huh?"

"Maybe." Luke started to yawn, and he added, "I'm exhausted... I should probably go."

"Oh, yeah, drop the bomb about you thinking about touching me every night, and then end the call. What a tease."

Luke chuckled. "If you want, we can pick up on that topic tomorrow."

"Okay. Goodnight."

"Goodnight... I love you." Luke's eyes widened and his mouth clamped shut, a few seconds too late. He couldn't believe how easily those words had slipped out. Considering they hadn't even gone on a date yet, it was probably a little too soon to declare his love, so he stammered, "Uh... _talking to you_... I love talking to you."

Lorelai was quiet on the other end of the phone, her own eyes also wide with surprise. She didn't quite know how to respond to that. Should she pretend she didn't hear it? Should she just hang up so he thinks she didn't hear it? Should she tease him about it, make him feel more relaxed?

She knew it wasn't a slip of the tongue, she knew exactly how he felt about her. It was clear by the things he did for her, by the way he talked to her. And as they were getting to know each other as more than just friends, she was realizing she felt similarly about him. Even from just a few weeks of conversations, she already felt it... she felt the difference in this relationship as compared to others. That deep affection that had been lacking in the others was very prominent in this one.

When she didn't say anything for a few seconds, Luke nervously asked, "Lorelai, are you there? Is this gonna be our last phone call because I have officially freaked you out?"

Lorelai smiled at that. "No, it's not," she said, finally breaking her silence. And after another brief pause, she swallowed hard and quietly added, "But you should know that I share that same sentiment."

The tenseness in Luke's body softened, and a relieved smile appeared on his lips. "That's good to hear."

"So, you gonna go think about my hand touching yours as you drift off to sleep?" she teased.

"Yup. Goodnight, Lorelai."

"Night, Luke."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Episode 5.3: Written in the Stars**

Lorelai kept listing CDs for Luke to write down until he got to the end of the page, and then she said, "Okay, that's a good start."

Luke rested the pen in the notebook and closed it shut. "I'm sure there's a list of movies I'm gonna have to get, too."

"Oh, for sure," Lorelai confirmed. "We'll work on that list next time."

Luke put the notebook back on his nightstand and settled back against his pillow. She reached for his hand, and he watched her stroke his palm for a few seconds before he said, "I can't believe we're here."

"Here on earth, or here in this bed? How existential are you being right now?"

"Bed," Luke replied. "I can't believe you're naked in my bed right now."

"I still can't believe you were pining for me for so long without ever asking me out," she said, still in disbelief. "I'm gonna tease you about that for awhile, just so you know."

"Trust me, I know," he assured her. "And I give up arguing the inaccuracy of that pining statement anymore, even though it wasn't exactly pining. It was like a crush."

"An intense crush." Lorelai lifted up the comforter slightly so she could move to lie on top of him. She gently traced her finger along his bottom lip. "It was hard going 7 weeks without seeing these," she told him. "I thought about them a lot, how I couldn't wait to kiss them again."

"I thought about that, too," Luke told her. "All the time."

Lorelai pressed her lips to his as his hands slipped under the covers to caress her body. They kissed tenderly for a few moments before Lorelai slowly pulled her lips from his. They stared at each other for a minute, smiling, touching each other. Her finger was twirling his hair, his hands were caressing her back.

"You know, you avoided the question earlier," Luke said.

"Which one?"

"Are you scared?"

"You mean of being in a relationship with someone who is putting all his pining eggs in one relationship basket and is just crossing his fingers that I'm as amazing as he thinks I am?" Lorelai replied, and then shook her head. "Nope, what could be terrifying about that? No pressure at all."

Luke smirked. "Okay, maybe that was a lot to unload on a first date, sorry. I just wanted to be open from the beginning."

Lorelai smiled. "I appreciate that. It was sweet, and flattering."

"Good." Luke gently ran his fingers through her hair. "I'm sure it's a little weird to start a relationship with someone who's already in love with you." And as the words came out of his mouth, he realized he was not making the situation any less intense for her.

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Luke..."

"Sorry, sorry, I take it back," Luke quickly said. "Forget I said it, that was stupid."

Lorelai smiled. "You can't take that back. It's out there now, and certainly not going to be forgotten anytime soon."

Luke grimaced. "I'm sorry, I wanted tonight to be special and I'm just throwing a lot at you and I should really stop talking."

"It's okay, it's fine... the night _has_ been special," she assured him. "Just please don't propose right now, that's where I'm gonna be like, 'okay, this dude moves too fast.'"

Luke smiled at her. "I promise I will not propose tonight."

"Okay." Lorelai leaned in and kissed him again, letting her lips linger against his for a moment before pulling back to look at him. She exhaled a breath, and Luke noticed she was contemplating something.

"Don't say it back, if that's what you're thinking about," he said. "It's too soon... I don't want you to feel pressured. I should've waited like a normal person would have."

Lorelai smiled. "You're not abnormal. You're just very taken by me and can't control the things that come out of your mouth." She glanced down toward the lower half of the bed, and then back at him with a sly smile and a raised eyebrow. "Speaking of which, seems like you're having trouble controlling other things, too."

Luke snorted a laugh. "Yeah, well, look at you... that's all your fault."

"Well, I guess I should apologize by initiating another round," Lorelai said, and she leaned in to kiss him.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Episode 5.5: We Got Us a Pippi Virgin**

Lorelai and Luke were sitting next to each other on Lorelai's couch, both quietly nursing their beers. Luke was angry at himself for ruining the evening, and Lorelai was worried that Rory was upset with them both.

Lorelai set her beer on the coffee table and stood up from the couch. "I'll be right back." She took her cell phone to the kitchen and sat down at the table.

She wrote a text a Rory apologizing for how the evening went, and asked if things were okay with Dean. They texted back and forth briefly, and then Lorelai returned to the living room.

Lorelai didn't sit down, she stood near the couch with her arms folded across her chest.

Luke was looking up at her anxiously. "Everything okay?"

"I was just texting with Rory, making sure she's okay."

"Is she?"

"Well, she's not mad at _me_ , but she is mad at _you_ ," Lorelai told him, and then shook her head. "I just don't get why you had to do that."

Luke stood up from the couch. "I'm sorry, okay? I just told you why I did it, he's not good enough for her."

"It doesn't matter if you think that or not, though, Luke!" Lorelai told him, her voice raising slightly with frustration. "You're a grown man, you should know how to suck it up and act polite around someone you don't like."

"Okay, okay, we don't have to relive the argument we just had a few minutes ago," Luke said calmly. "I screwed up, I'm sorry, what else do you want me to say?"

Lorelai exhaled a deep sigh and shrugged. "I don't know."

Luke paused for a moment. "Are _you_ mad at me, too?" he asked her. "Do you want me to go?"

Lorelai shook her head. "No, I don't want you to go."

Luke took a step closer to her and put his hands on her hips. "But you _are_ mad at me?"

Lorelai rested her hands on his shoulders. "I guess not mad, exactly, just... bummed at how the night went."

"Bummed," Luke repeated.

"Yeah, bummed." Lorelai leaned in and hugged him, adding, "But I know you just don't want her to get hurt, I know that's where the attitude was coming from."

Luke's arms embraced her body, hugging her back tightly. "Exactly."

"She'll get over it, it's just fresh right now." Lorelai pulled back from the hug to look at him. "And chances are, she's not going to want you anywhere near Dean for a very long time, but if you two do find yourselves within socializing distance, I really need you to be nice to him, okay?"

"Okay."

"Really, I mean it," Lorelai said firmly. "No attitude whatsoever."

"I know, I'll be nice to the kid," he assured her. "You can't see the disappointed looks you're giving me tonight, but getting _those_ looks from someone I love feels crappy, so trust me, I'm gonna do what I can to prevent you from giving them to me again."

Lorelai's eyes widened slightly and she blinked a few times. Luke immediately realized what he said, knew what she was reacting to. They were both quiet for a few seconds.

"Yeah, I said it," he finally said.

Lorelai smiled. "You did say it. I heard you say it."

"Yeah, well, I didn't mean for it come out like that for the first time," Luke said apologetically. "Especially not after a night we've been... whatever we're doing... arguing? Bickering?"

"Discussing," she corrected him. "We're discussing."

"Discussing, right," Luke repeated. "Well, either way, I probably could've picked a better time to say it."

Lorelai shrugged nonchalantly. "I liked it." She stepped closer to him and reached for his hands. "And even though I may have been giving you some disappointed looks tonight... I love you, too." She smiled and leaned in to kiss him.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Episode 5.7: You Jump, I Jump, Jack**

Lorelai had gone over to Luke's apartment to de-stress him from his frustrating golf outing with her father. She knocked on his door, he answered it, and they were in his bed within minutes.

Afterwards, they grabbed some snacks from the diner and lounged in his bed, talking and eating.

"So, was it really horrible?" Lorelai asked, grimacing slightly.

"The sex? Nah, it was pretty good," Luke replied.

Lorelai smiled and playfully swatted his arm. "I meant the golfing." She swatted him again. "And what do you mean, _pretty_ good?"

Luke smiled. "I'm kidding. I know what you meant."

"Still, _pretty_ good?" she challenged him. " _Pretty_ good? I was putting in some of my best effort there."

"Amazing," Luke corrected himself with a smirk. "It was amazing."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"So... rate today's golf outing on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is an amazing day and 10 is one of the worst days of your life."

Luke thought for a moment. "I'd say it was a 5. I mean, it was by no means _fun_ , and it wasn't the worst day of my life... it was just a lot of awkwardness. It was me pretending I knew how to golf, me trying to look like I understood what he was talking about half the time, me scrambling to answer his questions without sounding like an idiot. Oh, and by the way, I'm pretty sure I sent him off to look at porn on the internet."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Uhhh... what?"

Luke sighed. "He asked me what books I've read lately and I couldn't think of the author's name, all I could remember was that it had Dick in it. So, he said he'd search for Dick on the internet."

Lorelai stared at him for a moment before she burst into a fit of giggles. "Oh, my God!" she said as she clapped a hand over her mouth.

Luke let out a laugh. "I know, I know... it was a crazy day," he said, shaking his head. "I'm just glad it's over."

Lorelai settled down from her giggling fit and she patted his leg sympathetically. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"It's not your fault," Luke replied with a shrug.

"It _is_ my fault, because if you were not dating _me_ , you wouldn't have had to deal with that stuff today, and you wouldn't have had to deal with my mother the other day," Lorelai pointed out. "So, technically, yeah, it's kind of my fault."

"Well, if you're looking at it that way, then technically it's _my_ fault," he countered. "I'm the one who voluntarily _chooses_ to date you, hence leading us to the whole 'meeting your parents' ritual. If I was choosing to date someone else, I'd be dealing with that woman's possibly warmer parents."

Lorelai thought that over for a moment, and then smiled at him. "Yeah, I guess you're right... I'm free and clear. It's totally all your fault for choosing to associate with me on an intimate level."

Luke smirked and grabbed an apple slice from the bowl of cut-up fruit in front of him. He watched as she delicately scooped up a forkful of pie from her plate, dipped it into the whipped cream on the side, and brought the fork to her mouth.

He may not have had the most positive experiences with her parents, but he'd sit through a hundred more dinners and rounds of golf if he had to. He'd been waiting and hoping for this relationship for years, and would do whatever he needed to do to make sure things were good. With Lorelai, with Rory, with her family... whatever it took, he would do it.

Lorelai noticed him watching her, and quickly wiped her chin with her hand. "What? Is there pie on me?"

"No," he replied. "I'm just glad you're here."

Lorelai smiled. "My plan to de-stress you worked, huh?"

"It did," he confirmed. "And as previously mentioned, it was an amazingly executed plan."

"Good." She leaned toward him and they shared a kiss.

As they separated, he said, "You know, I don't particularly want to hang out with them again anytime soon, but if they want to, I will. If you want me to build a relationship with your parents, if that makes things easier for you and them or whatever, then I'll do it. I'm all in with you, Lorelai, so I wanna be all in with whatever else that entails." He shrugged as he added, "I just wanted to make sure you knew that."

Lorelai smiled and reached over to squeeze his hand. "I know."

They stared at each other for a moment as they sat on the bed, Luke in his sweatpants, Lorelai in his blue plaid shirt. They were so relaxed around each other, so comfortable, and he had the sudden urge to let her know exactly how he felt about her.

"I love you," he said, breaking the silence in the room, and he quickly added, "I just, I wanted you to know that. You don't have to say it back, it's fine, but I've been thinking about it a lot lately and really wanted to say it, so... there it is."

Lorelai stared at him silently, breathing out shallow breaths as her blue eyes were locked with his. She had been thinking recently about how incredibly happy she'd felt lately, how much she loved being with him, and how she couldn't imagine _not_ being with him. She knew she loved him, she'd wanted to tell him, and she kept holding it back. So now seemed like the perfect time.

"I love you, too," she finally said, smiling, and it felt good to finally say the words to him.

"Really, you don't have to say it if you're not ready, I don't want to rush you," Luke said.

"I _am_ ready, Luke. I'm not just saying it because you did, I'm saying it because I mean it," she assured him, and she narrowed her eyes toward the ceiling for a few seconds before bringing her gaze back to him, admitting, "And I think it might be the only time I've said it to a guy where I actually meant it and wasn't just saying the words."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah," she replied, and she put her hand on her stomach. "And it feels kind of terrifying, but also kind of incredible."

Luke smiled. "Sounds about right."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Episode 5.9: Emily Says Hello**

"Are you sure you can't stay?" Lorelai asked him as their lips parted.

Luke exhaled a sigh. "I've got really early deliveries tomorrow. I'll make it up to you this weekend."

"I'm gonna hold you to that, Mister," she said before leaning in to kiss him again.

They parted, and she headed to the front door as he walked toward his truck.

"Oh, by the way," Luke said, causing her to look over at him from the door. "It's fine about lunch."

Lorelai cocked her head a little. "What?"

"You having lunch with Christopher, I just want you to know I'm fine with it."

Lorelai's eyes widened a little with surprise. "Oh, okay... good," she said, giving him a smile.

"Yup. All right, see you tomorrow," he said, giving her a little wave before heading to his truck.

Lorelai looked after him, smiling but confused, and realized that the situation was a bigger deal to him than she'd thought. He'd taken it well at the diner when she'd told him about her lunch with Chris, but it was clearly something that had been on his mind.

Lorelai put her keys in the door lock and then turned around, calling, "Luke, wait!"

Luke had started his truck and was about to back up, and when he saw her walking toward him, he put the truck in park. "Yeah?"

Lorelai walked to the truck and put her hands on the frame of his open window. "I'm sorry about that... the lunch situation. I should've told you about it before I went."

Luke shrugged. "It's no big deal."

Lorelai shook her head. "You've obviously been thinking about it all day, Luke, so that means it _is_ a big deal. And I didn't really get that at the time, but I see it now... I just want you to know that I get it."

Luke nodded. "Okay... thanks."

Lorelai exhaled a deep breath and admitted, "Look, full disclosure... I'm not great at that kind of stuff, okay? But I'm gonna try to be better."

"What stuff?"

"Of remembering that there's someone who might read into the things I'm doing even if they seem innocent," Lorelai explained.

Luke narrowed his eyes. "So... remembering me is an issue for you?"

Lorelai grimaced and shook her head. "No, sorry, that didn't come out right," she quickly said. "I just meant that I need to get into a better habit of thinking about how certain situations will affect you. Just because I'm doing something that seems completely innocent to _me_ , I know that _you_... my significant other... might possibly see it differently."

Luke eyed her warily. "So, what other things are you doing that seem innocent to you that _I_ might see differently?"

"Nothing yet."

" _Yet_?" Luke repeated. "Lorelai..."

Lorelai exhaled a sigh. "Luke, I'm just trying to say that I'm gonna be more aware of those things moving forward," she told him. "I don't want you to have another day like today where I tell you something and you spend the entire day over-thinking it. I feel horrible that you've been stressing about that all day, that you were maybe thinking that you couldn't trust me or something. Because you can, one hundred percent."

Luke stared at her for a few seconds before he replied, "Okay."

Lorelai nervously nibbled on her bottom lip. "Why does it seem like you're not sold on the trust thing?"

"I do trust you, Lorelai, but you also just told me you aren't good at telling your boyfriends when you do things they might not like, so I don't know what to do with that." He turned away from her to look out the front windshield.

Lorelai covered her face with her hands and huffed out another sigh, muttering, "God, this is not going well." She dropped her hands and placed them back on the door. She took a deep breath before calmly stating, "Okay, first, that's not exactly what I said..."

"I paraphrased." He was still not looking at her.

"Second," she calmly continued. "I just told Rory today that I'm with you completely, Luke. _Completely_... I used that word, and I meant it. You can call her and ask her if you want. I love _you_ , and I love _us_ , and my whole point of this conversation was just to make sure you know that I'm going to focus on us more. That I know there's something I need to work on, and I'm going to work on it. And I know it's not coming out exactly as I'd hoped, but I wanna be an open book... I want this to work. I want things to be good between us, no games, no secrets." She stopped talking and stared at him, waiting for any sort of response or reaction.

Luke had been listening to every word, and without saying anything, he reached for the key and turned off the engine.

When she saw him reach for the door handle to get out of the truck, Lorelai stepped back from the door. She was confused at his silence, she wasn't sure if he was getting out to argue with her or hug her or what.

He stepped closer to her. "Do you know what you just said?" he asked softly, and she still couldn't tell by his neutral tone whether he was upset or not.

Lorelai's eyes widened, suddenly worried about what might have slipped out. "What? What did I say?" she asked anxiously. "Did I say something else stupid? Man, I'm really sucking tonight."

A small smile formed on Luke's lips. "You just said that you love me."

Lorelai was quiet for a few seconds, and then narrowed her eyes. "I did?"

"Yeah, you did," he confirmed, and he put his hands on her waist. "That was the first time you've said that."

Lorelai draped her arms over his shoulders. "Well, I meant it."

"Are you sure?" he teased. "Because you don't even remember saying it."

Lorelai smiled. "Well, the fact that it came out so naturally should tell you that it was genuine. I do love you, Luke. That's why I'm so anxious to make sure that we're good and that you know I'm in this."

Luke smiled and nodded. "I know." He leaned in to kiss her, and then said, "I love you, too."

Lorelai smiled and hugged him, and when she pulled back, she asked, "We're okay, right? You get what I was trying to say?"

"Yeah, I get it," he assured her. "And I do trust you."

"Okay, good," she said, exhaling a relieved sigh. She glanced toward the house, and then back at him. "So, how early are those deliveries exactly?"

Luke smirked. "Pretty early," he said, and then he looked at the house. "But maybe I can come in for a little while."

Lorelai smiled. "Good."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Episode 5.10: But Not As Cute As Pushkin**

"Do you want to come in?" Lorelai asked hopefully. "You can get drunk just standing next to the punch bowl."

"No, I'm still kinda..."

Lorelai nodded. "I get it."

"I just didn't want us to..."

"We're not," Lorelai assured him.

Luke nodded his head toward the dance studio. "You go have a good time."

Lorelai smiled. "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, you'll see me tomorrow."

"Okay."

They shared a kiss and a smile before Luke walked away. Lorelai hugged her jacket to her body and watched him walk down the street, feeling relieved that they'd resolved things.

She'd felt sick to her stomach since their fight in her front yard earlier. She'd spent the evening worrying about him and their relationship and whether she'd screwed everything up by buying his boat behind his back.

She walked back into the party and found Sookie, who immediately noticed Lorelai's shift in mood. "Where'd you go?" Sookie asked.

Lorelai gestured toward the door. "Oh, I saw Luke outside, I went to talk to him."

"Everything okay?"

Now that the fight was over, she felt more comfortable talking about it. "He came over earlier and saw the boat, and he didn't take it well," Lorelai explained, and then glanced around and lowered her voice. "We had a huge fight. It was _bad_ , Sookie. He was yelling, it was just..." She exhaled a sigh and shook her head in disbelief. "It was bad."

Sookie frowned and rubbed Lorelai's arm. "Aw, honey, I'm so sorry. I wish you would've told me. That explains why you've been sort of... out of it tonight."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "I _have_ been out of it, haven't I?"

Sookie nodded. "Yeah. Very distracted."

"It's weird. I've never been _that_ distracted after a fight with a guy before," Lorelai told her. "Sure, if there's an actual breakup, I'll get upset or whatever, but I'm usually not that affected by an _argument_ , you know? Like, we'd argue, we'd take some time to let it blow over, then we'd talk and make up. I don't usually agonize over whether or not it's going to destroy the relationship. But this time..."

"You were agonizing?"

"I was worried," Lorelai admitted. "I was scared he was done with us."

Sookie cocked her head to the side with a small smile on her lips. "You know what that means, though. It means that you're fully _in_ this relationship more than the others... you worry more about this one lasting."

Lorelai thought that over for a moment. "Yeah... I guess that makes sense."

When Lorelai walked out of the dance studio almost an hour later to head home, she first looked over toward the diner. Even thought it was late, she could see the lights were still on in Luke's apartment, and she quickly headed that way.

The diner was closed, but she used the hidden key to let herself inside, and she headed up to Luke's apartment. She knocked on the door, and it took Luke a few moments to open it.

"Lorelai," he said, surprised to see her.

"Hey," she greeted him. "I don't wanna come in or bother you, I know you're still having your day, and it's late..."

"It's okay," he said. "I actually went to your place for a little while... I was checking out the boat, thinking about some memories."

Lorelai cocked her head to the side with a sympathetic frown. "Aw. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay... I'm good."

"Okay, good." Lorelai exhaled a deep breath and tucked her hair behind her ears. "So... I just wanted to say something and then I'll get out of your hair. Um, so, I was really upset after our fight," she told him, and she put her hands on her stomach. "I felt sick about it, Luke. I couldn't stop thinking about it, and worrying that you hated me, and that you wouldn't want to talk to me again."

Luke started to reply to that, but she held up her hand. "No, wait, let me finish?" she asked, and Luke gave her a nod.

"And I don't get like that," she continued. "I don't argue with people and then worry that it means I'm going to lose them from my life... that was a different type of reaction for me. And when I thought about it, I realized..." She took a moment to gather her thoughts, and then she quietly offered, "It's because I love you. I love you and I'm afraid to lose you." She took another deep breath before quickly adding, "And I know we haven't said that to each other yet, but I thought I should come over here and say it because I didn't want to put it off, I didn't want to risk me getting too scared to say it... I wanted you to know." Lorelai exhaled a deep breath and then gestured toward him. "You can respond now."

By her nervous fidgeting, Luke knew that wasn't an easy thing for her to say, which made it all the more important a moment. He stepped out into the hall, cradled her face in his hands, and pressed his lips to hers for a passionate kiss. Her body melted into his, and when he pulled his lips from hers, he whispered, "I love you, too."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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**Episode 5.11: Woman of Questionable Morals**

As Lorelai skated over to Luke, he reached out his arms to help catch her at the edge of the ice rink. "I can't believe you did this," she said, still in disbelief at his grand romantic gesture. "I can't believe you built me an ice rink."

Luke shrugged and started to reply, but Lorelai interrupted him. "And don't say that it's not a big deal, Luke. It _is_ a big deal. It's one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me, ever."

She couldn't believe she had lied to Luke about what she'd done the evening before, all the while he was concocting some amazing plan to cheer her up about snow. Guilty didn't begin to describe how she felt.

She knew she had made things worse by hiding it from him. She knew what the right thing to do was, she knew she had to tell him. And she _would_ tell him, but she needed to wait for the timing to be right. She didn't want to start an argument right now, she didn't want to ruin this moment they were having.

However, she realized there was something else she needed to tell him, something she'd been putting off for too long that she really wanted to get out. And at that moment, as they stood in the yard surrounded by beautiful white snow next to an ice rink he'd built for her, it felt like the time to say it.

"You're really good with actions," Lorelai told him, and he narrowed his eyes with confusion before she clarified, "You know, showing people that they're important to you... you're good at that."

"Oh... thanks," he replied, unsure of how exactly to respond to that.

"I'm not quite at that level of yours," she told him. "I'm not sure I always convey to people how much they mean to me. But I _should_... I should try to be better at showing people."

Luke wasn't sure where she was going with this train of thought, so he waited, he just listened.

"But it might take some time for me to work on those action skills, so I just have to use my words for now," Lorelai continued. She paused for a moment, glanced down at the ground, and took a deep breath.

Lorelai raised her eyes to meet his gaze, and then she leaned in to hug him. "I love you," she said softly, and the words sent a shiver down Luke's spine. "I might not be as good as you at showing it, but I really needed you to know it."

Luke smiled as he hugged her back, and he pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I love you, too."

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**Episode 5.12: Come Home**

Lorelai aimed the controller at the television, clicked the power button, and grinned as the television turned on.

"You _are_ too good for me," she said to Luke.

"Well, maybe I'll meet a nice girl at your parents' wedding," Luke joked, and he reached over to turn out the light. He rested his head against his pillow and closed his eyes, and Lorelai affectionately rubbed his back.

She watched the TV, and kept glancing over at him as he tried to go to sleep next to her. She thought about him and their relationship and how well things were going for them. How kind he was to her. How much fun she had with him. How he made her laugh - that was something she bet people would be surprised to find out, how funny he was. He bantered with her, he kept up with her, he went along with her crazy quirks.

And she thought about how he constantly showed her how much he cared by doing thoughtful things. In just the past few days, he'd built her a shelf, bought her a television, and agreed to attend an event he didn't want to go to just because he knew she wanted him to.

She didn't know if she returned that thoughtfulness enough, if she was clear about her own feelings for him. They were strong feelings, the strongest she'd ever felt for anyone, and she suddenly started to worry that he didn't know how she felt.

Lorelai muted the television, put her hand on his back, and leaned in close to his ear. "Luke, are you still awake?"

"Mmhmm," he groggily replied.

"Thank you for the television," she whispered.

"You're welcome."

"It was really nice of you... I wanted you to know I appreciate it."

"Okay."

"And... also... I love you," she told him, and then quickly added, "Not because of the television, it's not related to that. I mean, the act of getting the television and hooking it up just for me definitely represents your kindness, which I do love, but the love for you that I have is not specific to the television. The love was there before the television... just wanted to make sure that was clear." She winced a little and pulled back from him, mentally telling herself to stop talking.

Luke rolled over onto his back, and then sat up, shifting his body to look at her. He was smirking as he asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes," she confirmed with a nod. "Just wanted to provide that information to you because it's important for you to know, and I wasn't sure if you knew it. So... now you know."

Luke smiled at her rambling. "I did know it, even before you said it." He leaned in closer to her and said, "I love you, too."

"I know," Lorelai whispered against his lips. They kissed, and then she pulled back with a smile. "You were waiting for me to say it first, weren't you?"

Luke shrugged. "Kind of, but only because I didn't want to rush you. I wanted you to take your time, and not say it because I did."

"You're a patient man," Lorelai observed.

"For the important things," Luke replied.

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, so, the l-word is out there now."

"It's out there," he agreed. "Which is good, this is good."

She nodded in agreement. "It is good."

Luke yawned as he glanced toward the muted television, and then looked back at her. "Okay, so, I guess... you'll go back to Stewart, I'm gonna try to get to sleep..."

"And we'll celebrate this moment in the morning after your deliveries?" she suggested with a raise of her eyebrow.

Luke smiled. "You got it." He leaned in for another kiss. "Goodnight."

"Night."

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End file.
